Monday, October 30, 2006

If you find yourself in the Silver Spring area tonight, stop by Round House Theatre for another Extreme Exchange, an evening of new short works including my play “four actors waiting in a bread line” with a cast of Tina Renay Fulp, Erika Imhoof, Cassie Lee, and Juliette Kelsey-Chagnon.


Extreme Exchange Presents

Dreams and Nightmares for America: The Halloween Edition

October 30th 7:30pm at
Round House Theatre Silver Spring

This event is free & open to the public

Extreme Exchange (“XX”) brings theatre artists together from across the DC area to tackle national issues that are on our minds but not our stages. Join us for an evening of freshly written scenes & short plays, followed by what’s sure to be a lively talkback. Our goal is to foster a free and open debate that speaks to multiple sides of any given issue, so bring your opinions as well as an open mind.

Started in NYC during the Republican Convention in 2004, XX came to DC in 2005 and has featured work by artists from Rorschach Theater, Charter Theater, Theater J, ACTCo, Theatre Alliance, Quotidian Theater Company, AccokeekCreek Theatreco and others. Now in its third DC edition, XX brings you this special event a week before one of the most important mid-term elections our nation has ever held.

For more information email extremeexchange@gmail.com.

Friday, October 27, 2006

WASHINGTON AREA THEATERS JOIN NATIONWIDE PREMIERE OF SUZAN-LORI PARKS’ 365 DAYS/365 PLAYS

Part of Year-Long National Festival in 14 Cities and Communities

Terrific news!! Studio Theatre has accepted our Project 365 proposal. BSU will produce seven days of 365 Days / 365 Plays by Suzan-Lori from February 5 - 11, 2007 at a variety of locations across campus.

WHAT IS 365 DAYS/365 PLAYS?
365 Days/365 Plays started in November 2002 when Suzan-Lori Parks committed to writing a play a day for the next 365 days. From Nov 13, 2006– Nov 12, 2007 the 365 Days/365 Plays National Festival will present the work simultaneously across the country, creating the largest collaboration in the history of American theater.

Thursday, October 19, 2006


Run of the Mill Theater in Baltimore, dedicated to new and experimental plays, presents a South African Play Festival at Theatre Project from November 16 - December 31. The Festival includes two mainstage productions, several staged readings and a South African dance company. The two mainstage productions include "Sizwe Banzi is Dead" and "Statements after an Arrest Under the Immorality Act," both written by Fugard as part of a trilogy.

Character descriptions: Sizwe Banzi: two African or African-American male actors, one in twenties, one in thirties or early forties; the cast is made up of only two actors, and both create a world onstage through costume changes and physicality | Statements after an Arrest: one African or African-American male actor in late twenties, early thirties; the cast is made up of only three actors, and this character is driving the piece; complexity and intensity needed; movement based piece | although nudity is requested in the script, actors will be clothed in this piece
I saw a final dress rehearsal of Crestfall at The Studio Theatre on Tuesday night ... haunting, beautiful, grotesque, Irish, three women, three monologues, 85 wonderful minutes. See it if you get the chance.
BSU Children's Theatre presents

MOTHER GOOSE ON THE LOOSE
October 26 @ 10:00 AM, October 27 @ 12:00 noon and October 28 @ 1:00 PM (these are revised performance times) in the Myers Auditorium

directed by Professor Renee’ Charlow
OPEN CASTING CALL - UNION AND NON-UNION ACTORS WANTED FOR INDUSTRIAL FILM FOR CAMPUS CRUSADE

Looking for college age to senior citizens; working class to white collar; male and female across Hispanic, white, Asian and African American ethnicities actors. Actors do not need to be Christians. Shooting will take place in DC during selected dates from October 30 - November 20. Bring headshot and resume. Cold readings.

Auditions:
Friday, October 20 - 6:00pm - 10:00pm
Saturday, October 21 - 1:00pm - 6:00pm

Crystal Gateway Marriott
1700 Jefferson Davis Highway
(right off the Crystal City Metro stop)
LOCAL AUDITION

ANTON IN SHOW BUSINESS by Jane Martin, presented by Port City Playhouse, Alexandria, VA

directed by Chuck Dluhy; produced by Dick Schwab | Three actresses are cast in a regional production of Anon Chekhov’s The Three Sisters and find themselves caught up in a wonderland of power politics and ego conflicts. A multi-character and multi-faceted comedy, Anton in Show Business explores the question of why the show must go on and answers that question in ways that are as perceptive as they are funny.

Casting 7 females including 1 African-American female. Strong comedic skills are required for all roles. Some roles require playing both sexes and/or the use of one or more dialects including New York City, Texas, Russian, Polish, British and Jamaican. Auditions are open call & will consist of cold readings from the script.

Auditions: November 6 & 7 at 7:00PM at the Lee Center, Alexandria, VA
Callbacks: November 9 at 7:00PM
Performances: January 19 – February 3

Detailed character information and audition readings can be found at the PCP website: www.portcityplayhouse.com

Wednesday, October 11, 2006


Theatre Alliance opens Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye this week. I'll check on group rates. The play runs through November 5. Nobel Prize-winning author Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye is brought to the stage with rich language and bold theatrical vision! Ohio. 1940. Pecola Breedlove wants nothing more than to be loved by her family and schoolmates. Blaming her dark skin for her nothingness, she prays for blue eyes, sure that they will have the power to change her world.

Friday, October 06, 2006

The Department of Fine and Performing Arts announces the winners of ShortStack v2:

Festival Winner: Sakina by Michael Leicht
First Runner Up: Why We Invented God by D.W. Gregory
Second Runner Up (tie): The Bank by Stephen Schutzman and Chess Game by Stephen LaRoqcue
Audience Favorite: Sakina by Michael Leicht

Please look for submission information soon for ShortStack v3. Winning playwrights receive a monetary prize. A panel of BSU theatre faculty and students determine awards based on readings of the script and not production.

Good news! BSU will host The Annapolis Film Festival during the weekend of November 10 in CLT 102. Tickets will be available to the public and students will be admitted free!! The festival is co-sponsored by the Department of Fine and Performing Arts and BSU's SGA. I'm co-coordinating the event with Professor Tewodross Melchishua. Check back for more information. The Festival includes animation, documentary, urban, world cinema, etc.
um ... wow.

from theatremania: KENNEDY CENTER TO PRESENT AUGUST WILSON'S "PITTSBURGH CYCLE" IN SPRING 2008
By: Michael Portantiere

In Spring 2008, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. will present the late Pulitzer Prize-winner August Wilson's complete "Pittsburgh Cycle" of 10 plays dealing with the African-American experience in the 20th century. Each play will be given three staged readings with costumes, lighting, and scenery in the center's Terrace Theater. Kenny Leon will serve as the month-long festival's artistic director and will direct several of the plays; two other directors will be named at a later date.

Nine out of 10 of the plays are set in Pittsburgh, and the action of each unfolds during a different decade of the 1900s. At the Kennedy Center, the plays will be presented under the umbrella title August Wilson's 20th Century. The 10 works that make up the cycle are Gem of the Ocean, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, Joe Turner's Come and Gone, The Piano Lesson, Seven Guitars, Fences, Two Trains Running, Jitney, King Hedley II, and Radio Golf. Wilson died of liver cancer on October 2, 2005.

Leon was represented on Broadway by Gem of the Ocean and the 2004 revival of Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun. He also directed a touring production of Radio Golf that is now playing at the Huntington Theatre Company in Boston and is expected to reach Broadway in April 2007. Currently, he is directing The Public Theater's production of Daniel Beaty's solo show Emergence-See!, which will begin performances on October 10.

Tuesday, October 03, 2006

Free tickets for tomorrow night's production of MacBird at American Century Theatre in Arlington. Who's interested? Email me @ bbartlett@bowiestate.edu if you want to join me.
I saw Journeymen's Spinning Into Butter last week. Terrific production. They're seeking interns, so hit their link and contact artistic director Deborah Kirby. I also saw Charter Theatre's Short Order Stories. It's great to see a company dedicated to new plays.